The Blue Jays Could Be A Dark Horse In The AL East

Since the Blue Jays won their last AL East Title in 1993, they have only had eight winning seasons while every other team that currently resides in the division has finished the season on top of the mountain at least twice.

Heading into last season the Blue Jays has optimism for the first time in a very long time. Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos spent the prior winter wheeling and dealing to improve this club. Anthopoulos acquired the 2012 National League Cy Young Award winner in starting pitcher R.A. Dickey from the New York Mets. The Blue Jays signed outfielder Melky Cabrera who was coming off of being selected as the 2012 MLB All-Star Game MVP while they also acquired shortstop Jose Reyes and starting pitcher Mark Buehrle from the Miami Marlins. But the new Jays looked just like the old ones as they finished 2013 in the cellar of the American League East with a record of 74-88.

Toronto was expected to finish in the bottom of the AL East again this season, but they have been proving people wrong. In the past two years each team within the division has made the postseason at least once and the Blue Jays are showing everyone that they are tired of being pushed around by their competition.

The Jays currently have a record of 30-22 which is the top mark within the rigorous division. The Blue Jays are on a roll right now as they have won 10 of their last 11 games. Over that period Toronto has a road sweep over the defending World Series Champion Red Sox and this past weekend they swept the two-time defending American League West Champion Oakland Athletics who are once again leading their division.

The Blue Jays currently sport one of the best offensive attacks in the AL as they are first in home runs (73), runs batted in (243), and slugging percentage (.450). Since coming to the Blue Jays in 2008, outfielder Jose Bautista has blossomed into one of the better power-hitters in baseball. Bautista led MLB in home runs in both 2010 and 2011. Injuries derailed him in the past two seasons, but he is back on track in 2014 with a .289 batting average to go along with 12 home runs and 35 runs batted in. Normally those numbers would be good enough for Bautista to lead the club, but the Jays have depth in their lineup this season. Like Bautista, Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion came to the club as an unknown and he has propelled himself into a big bopper. In the past two years Encarnacion combined to hit 78 home runs and he is once again on pace to have a big season. Encarnacion’s 15 homers are tied for second in the American League while his 41 runs batted in are fifth.

The Jays offense has been able to do all of this while Reyes and third baseman Brett Lawrie are in the process of getting it going at the plate. Reyes came to the Blue Jays last season with 410 career stolen bases, but the disabled list has been an all too common home for him during his 11-year Major League Baseball career. Reyes missed 69 games last season and he has already missed 17 games this season due to injury. But since May 8, Reyes has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball. That day Reyes’ batting average was .179, but his average has now jumped to .246. For this month Reyes’ on-base percentage is .351 and he has 10 stolen bases. Reyes’ presence on the base paths is important due to the fact that his speed allows Encarnacion and Baustista to see more fastballs when they are at the plate. Lawrie has gotten his average up to .230, but his 8 home runs on the season are in striking distance of his career-high of 11 which he has accomplished in each of the last two seasons.

Throughout their history the Blue Jays have had dominant starting pitchers. Dave Stieb was the first ace in Blue Jays franchise history as he helped the team win the World Series in 1992. The late 1990’s saw the Jays starting rotation paced by AL Cy Young Award winners Roger Clemens and Pat Hentgen. In the 2000’s the Blue Jays pitching staff was led by 2003 American League Cy Young winner Roy Halladay.

The current Blue Jays pitching staff has an earned run average of 4.17 which is 11th in the AL, but the earned run average can be a little deceiving. Buehrle currently leads the American League in wins with 8 and his 2.16 earned run average is second. After going 14-13 last season with the Jays, Dickey is 5-4 this season in 11 starts. This past Saturday, Dickey went 8.1 innings while allowing a pair of runs on five hits in a 5-2 win over the A’s. Dickey was able to lower his earned run average on the season to 3.95 after posting a 4.21 ERA last season in Toronto as he appears to be more comfortable pitching in the AL this year.

The field general that is currently holding everything together for the Blue Jays is manager John Gibbons. This is not Gibbon’s first time around the block in Toronto as he was the Blue Jays manager from 2004-2008. Gibbons was fired in 2008 by former Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi. But Anthopoulos brought him back into the fold last season and he is making the most of his second chance in Toronto.

The Blue Jays are only 11-9 against their divisional foes this season. The schedule for Toronto is set to get tougher as we are are about to see how good they really are. Next month the Jays have six games against the Yankees, four with the Orioles, along with three against the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Cincinnati Reds respectively. Of those five teams only the O’s and Yankees were not playoff teams in 2013.

For Toronto to stay in the playoff hunt, Anthopoulos should look for another starting pitcher on the trade market.

The Chicago Cubs are expected to shop starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija as they are seeking prospects in return. Samardzija is 1-4 on the season, but his 1.68 earned run average is second in baseball and he can give the Blue Jays another power arm in their starting rotation. However if the Jays are serious about contending they can expect competition on the trade market for Samardzija. This season Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cliff Lee has a record of 4-4 with an earned run average of 3.18. Lee is currently on the disabled list with discomfort in his pitching elbow, but if and when he does get cleared he could be someone that the Blue Jays look at to bolster their starting rotation as he has a good postseason track record. 

With the AL East as wide open as ever this season, the time is now for Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays to strike and return to the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

When the Blue Jay
s were a perennial title contender, the Rogers Centre (previously the SkyDome) was the place to be and it was also tough for opposing teams. If the Jays are able to stay in the playoff race this summer it will once again be an electric place to be to watch a baseball game at.